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Across 3 decades, hunt for Sarasota fugitive continues

The FBI created these age progression images to show what Allen Robert Schultz , now 56, might look like. Schultz has been a fugitive since 1985 when he disappeared after allegedly beating his girlfriend, causing paralysis. Sarasota County Deputy Brian Barrett, who is part of the U.S. Marshal’s Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, is using many resources - including the FBI's ability to create age progression images - to track down Schultz. Photo provided by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office

Schultz has had an active warrant for his arrest since the summer of 1985.

Now, through Deputy Brian Barrett of the U.S. Marshal's Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Sheriff's Office is enlisting all available resources to find him.

One of the more recent efforts is the creation and global circulation of age progression photos to show what the fugitive might look like 29 years later, at his current age (57). The images, which show Schultz with icy blue eyes, graying hair and two different facial hair styles, were made by the FBI.

They have been distributed across the globe.

“You can rest assured I'm going to find this guy; it's just a matter of when,” said Barrett, who began working the cold case two years ago. “The investigation is not going to stop. I'm doing things internationally.

“We turn every stone.”

On the night of June 17, 1985, Schultz and Walker played backgammon in the living room of their home at 6105 Brentwood Drive.

It's not clear what sparked an argument, but Schultz allegedly beating Walker that night.

When he kicked her neck, Walker said she “felt a tingling sensation from her shoulders to her toes,” an investigative report says.

Five seconds later, her body went numb.

Schultz laid Walker on their mattress and then left. An hour later, he returned and had sex with her.

When he left the second time, Schultz went to a nearby bar. A deputy patrolling the area watched as Schultz swerved across the roadway, running up over a curb.

Schultz was arrested at 3 a.m. for driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon after deputies found a machete under his seat.

Arrested close to home, Schultz asked the deputy if he could check on Walker before going to jail.

The deputy obliged, but when he knocked on the door, no one answered.

Detectives would later learn that Walker heard the knock.

“She attempted to scream, but she could only manage a whisper,” an investigative report states.

Schultz was taken to jail, where he was released later that day on his own recognizance. His half-sister picked him up and dropped him off near the Brentwood Drive residence.

When Schultz went inside, Walker was lying on the mattress where he'd left her. He called authorities.

When emergency personnel arrived, he disappeared.

“He just takes off, not to be seen by us or other people afterward,” Stroud said.

At the hospital, it was determined that the blow to Walker's neck severely damaged two vertebrae, causing her to become quadriplegic.

A few days later, detectives found Schultz's van parked outside a friend's apartment. The friend said Schultz showed up and said he was having problems with his girlfriend and was skipping town — he would send the title to the van later.

In New Jersey, Schultz's half-brother had an unexpected visit. His brother gave him $30 and told him to get lost.

Detectives obtained a warrant for Schultz on the charge of aggravated battery and the case was considered closed.

“They worked the case. They've got a warrant for him. They've reached out to his family and they just said let's see if this guy turns up,” Stroud said. “Who thought 30 years later we'd be sitting here and nobody's seen him.”

Aside from a call to his half-sister a couple of years after the incident, Schultz has stayed below the radar.

“I told him he was wanted, but I didn't know what for,” said the half-sister, who still lives in Sarasota County and asked to remain anonymous. “I told him he should turn himself in but he hung up on me. It was a very brief conversation.”

She said she doubts he will ever reach out to her again.

She said it was common for her to go years without hearing from or seeing her half-brother, who had addiction problems, even before the accident. About 15 years older than him, she married and moved away when he was still young. They had different friends, different lifestyles.

She said she has a hard time believing that Schultz, who was often in and out of trouble, could stay hidden for so long.

There is nothing to suggest that Schultz ever reached out to Walker, who spent her life in a nursing home.

Walker died in November 2004 from bronchopneumonia — a common complication of quadriplegia. She was 61.

“The manner of death is homicide,” an autopsy report from the 12th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner's Office states.

Ignored by the Sheriff's Office for years, the case was not revisited by detectives until the ME's office called to report the findings.

Walker had no family members or friends asking detectives for updates. She was estranged from her only daughter, who lived out of state. There were no advocacy groups giving voices to victims.

Attempts to reach Walker's relatives or friends for this story were unsuccessful.

“It doesn't sound like she had much of a support group here to be pushing this,” Stroud said. “They got a warrant; they thought he's going to pop up — he's going to come back. He didn't. Cases keep coming in, and it's on to the next thing.”

Despite the homicide classification, the charge on Schultz's warrant has not changed. He is still wanted for aggravated battery.

Once Schultz is found, the State Attorney's Office could decide to upgrade those charges.

“She deserves justice,” sheriff's spokeswoman Wendy Rose said.

Despite what others think, Barrett is convinced that Schultz is alive.

If that were true, his body would have been found. Barrett discovered this case a couple of years ago when he was browsing through cold case files.

He was looking for something challenging. He found that in Schultz.

Barrett started with almost nothing:

The file included a few notes from the initial incident in 1985, and a couple of follow-ups from 2004 when Walker died.

The original detective on the case is no longer living.

What little evidence detectives gathered — a cassette containing unknown information and a medical examination kit and form — was destroyed when a property-and-evidence room flooded. Officials could not find a record of the flood, but said it was probably from a pipe bursting.

“When I started questioning people, that's when I thought this is going to be a successful apprehension,” Barrett said. “It became apparent that this guy is alive.”

Barrett won't disclose details of his investigation, but said he is perpetually looking over the file and chasing leads.

For Schultz to have disappeared for this long, he likely has a new identity: a new name, new job, new Social Security number. Getting necessary documents to do so was easy before 9/11, and identity theft is a common-enough crime.

“Now it's my job to unravel the layers and expose him. Once I shed those layers the trails get hotter,” Barrett said.

All it will really take is for Schultz to have a run-in with law enforcement.

His face is out there.

His aliases — James Allen Schultz and Robert Allen Schultz — are out there, too.

And his fingerprints are on file from his DUI arrest following the alleged beating.

If he is ever arrested anywhere, those prints should automatically be run through state and national databases. The only obstacle might be if Schultz is in a rural area lacking advanced technology or in another country.

“You're hunting ghosts,” Stroud said.

Since he joined the agency's fugitive apprehension unit in 2008, Barrett said he's been successful in every manhunt.

“He's been on the lam since '85, so he had a head-start on me,” Barrett said. “I'm catching up, I can guarantee you that.

<p><em>SARASOTA COUNTY</em> - No one has seen or heard from Allen Schultz in almost 30 years — more than half of his life.</p><p>Is he living in Florida, across the country, across the world?</p><p>Does he know that the girlfriend he severely beat in 1985 died two decades later as a result of her injuries?</p><p>Does he know the authorities are searching for him?</p><p>Is he dead?</p><p>The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office knows one thing for certain: “He's disappeared,” retired Lt. Tom Stroud said.</p><p>Schultz has had an active warrant for his arrest since the summer of 1985.</p><p>Now, through Deputy Brian Barrett of the U.S. Marshal's Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Sheriff's Office is enlisting all available resources to find him.</p><p>One of the more recent efforts is the creation and global circulation of age progression photos to show what the fugitive might look like 29 years later, at his current age (57). The images, which show Schultz with icy blue eyes, graying hair and two different facial hair styles, were made by the FBI.</p><p>They have been distributed across the globe.</p><p>“You can rest assured I'm going to find this guy; it's just a matter of when,” said Barrett, who began working the cold case two years ago. “The investigation is not going to stop. I'm doing things internationally.</p><p>“We turn every stone.”</p><p>On the night of June 17, 1985, Schultz and Walker played backgammon in the living room of their home at 6105 Brentwood Drive.</p><p>It's not clear what sparked an argument, but Schultz allegedly beating Walker that night.</p><p>When he kicked her neck, Walker said she “felt a tingling sensation from her shoulders to her toes,” an investigative report says.</p><p>Five seconds later, her body went numb.</p><p>Schultz laid Walker on their mattress and then left. An hour later, he returned and had sex with her.</p><p>When he left the second time, Schultz went to a nearby bar. A deputy patrolling the area watched as Schultz swerved across the roadway, running up over a curb.</p><p>Schultz was arrested at 3 a.m. for driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon after deputies found a machete under his seat.</p><p>Arrested close to home, Schultz asked the deputy if he could check on Walker before going to jail.</p><p>The deputy obliged, but when he knocked on the door, no one answered.</p><p>Detectives would later learn that Walker heard the knock.</p><p>“She attempted to scream, but she could only manage a whisper,” an investigative report states.</p><p>Schultz was taken to jail, where he was released later that day on his own recognizance. His half-sister picked him up and dropped him off near the Brentwood Drive residence.</p><p>When Schultz went inside, Walker was lying on the mattress where he'd left her. He called authorities.</p><p>When emergency personnel arrived, he disappeared.</p><p>“He just takes off, not to be seen by us or other people afterward,” Stroud said. </p><p>At the hospital, it was determined that the blow to Walker's neck severely damaged two vertebrae, causing her to become quadriplegic.</p><p>A few days later, detectives found Schultz's van parked outside a friend's apartment. The friend said Schultz showed up and said he was having problems with his girlfriend and was skipping town — he would send the title to the van later.</p><p>In New Jersey, Schultz's half-brother had an unexpected visit. His brother gave him $30 and told him to get lost.</p><p>Detectives obtained a warrant for Schultz on the charge of aggravated battery and the case was considered closed.</p><p>“They worked the case. They've got a warrant for him. They've reached out to his family and they just said let's see if this guy turns up,” Stroud said. “Who thought 30 years later we'd be sitting here and nobody's seen him.”</p><p>Aside from a call to his half-sister a couple of years after the incident, Schultz has stayed below the radar.</p><p>“I told him he was wanted, but I didn't know what for,” said the half-sister, who still lives in Sarasota County and asked to remain anonymous. “I told him he should turn himself in but he hung up on me. It was a very brief conversation.”</p><p>She said she doubts he will ever reach out to her again.</p><p>She said it was common for her to go years without hearing from or seeing her half-brother, who had addiction problems, even before the accident. About 15 years older than him, she married and moved away when he was still young. They had different friends, different lifestyles.</p><p>She said she has a hard time believing that Schultz, who was often in and out of trouble, could stay hidden for so long.</p><p>“That was a gone-with-the-wind routine,” she said. “I personally think he's dead.” </p><p>There is nothing to suggest that Schultz ever reached out to Walker, who spent her life in a nursing home.</p><p>Walker died in November 2004 from bronchopneumonia — a common complication of quadriplegia. She was 61.</p><p>“The manner of death is homicide,” an autopsy report from the 12th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner's Office states.</p><p>Ignored by the Sheriff's Office for years, the case was not revisited by detectives until the ME's office called to report the findings. </p><p>Walker had no family members or friends asking detectives for updates. She was estranged from her only daughter, who lived out of state. There were no advocacy groups giving voices to victims.</p><p>Attempts to reach Walker's relatives or friends for this story were unsuccessful.</p><p>“It doesn't sound like she had much of a support group here to be pushing this,” Stroud said. “They got a warrant; they thought he's going to pop up — he's going to come back. He didn't. Cases keep coming in, and it's on to the next thing.”</p><p>Despite the homicide classification, the charge on Schultz's warrant has not changed. He is still wanted for aggravated battery.</p><p>Once Schultz is found, the State Attorney's Office could decide to upgrade those charges.</p><p>“She deserves justice,” sheriff's spokeswoman Wendy Rose said.</p><p>Despite what others think, Barrett is convinced that Schultz is alive.</p><p>“I know locally they adopted that he's probably dead by now,” Barrett said. “I don't believe that.” </p><p>If that were true, his body would have been found. Barrett discovered this case a couple of years ago when he was browsing through cold case files. </p><p>He was looking for something challenging. He found that in Schultz.</p><p>Barrett started with almost nothing:</p><p>The file included a few notes from the initial incident in 1985, and a couple of follow-ups from 2004 when Walker died.</p><p>The original detective on the case is no longer living.</p><p>What little evidence detectives gathered — a cassette containing unknown information and a medical examination kit and form — was destroyed when a property-and-evidence room flooded. Officials could not find a record of the flood, but said it was probably from a pipe bursting.</p><p>“When I started questioning people, that's when I thought this is going to be a successful apprehension,” Barrett said. “It became apparent that this guy is alive.”</p><p>Barrett won't disclose details of his investigation, but said he is perpetually looking over the file and chasing leads. </p><p>For Schultz to have disappeared for this long, he likely has a new identity: a new name, new job, new Social Security number. Getting necessary documents to do so was easy before 9/11, and identity theft is a common-enough crime.</p><p>“Now it's my job to unravel the layers and expose him. Once I shed those layers the trails get hotter,” Barrett said.</p><p>All it will really take is for Schultz to have a run-in with law enforcement.</p><p>His face is out there.</p><p>His aliases — James Allen Schultz and Robert Allen Schultz — are out there, too.</p><p>And his fingerprints are on file from his DUI arrest following the alleged beating.</p><p>If he is ever arrested anywhere, those prints should automatically be run through state and national databases. The only obstacle might be if Schultz is in a rural area lacking advanced technology or in another country.</p><p>“You're hunting ghosts,” Stroud said.</p><p>Since he joined the agency's fugitive apprehension unit in 2008, Barrett said he's been successful in every manhunt.</p><p>“He's been on the lam since '85, so he had a head-start on me,” Barrett said. “I'm catching up, I can guarantee you that.</p><p>“I will find this guy.”</p>